A Light in the Shadow
by F22 Raptor
Summary: // "Live as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts." - Cicero 106 BC - 43 BC \\ Zuko, in trying to find the cause of events around him, looks to the giants of the past...
1. Chapter 1

**- Lost Rose -**

**I**

_We do not die because we have to die; we die because one day, and not so long ago, our consciousness was forced to deem it necessary. _

- Antonin Artaud (1896 - 1948)

* * *

The sun was staring with an intense glare on the Fire Nation. It was just a bit past noon, and the shadows were barely pointing east. It was quiet, save for the sound of the wind against the hollow ridges and rolling fields of roses in the distance...

Fire Nation tradition had never allowed the body to be hidden from sight. For as the fire needs the open air to stay alive, so to does the body upon the departure of the soul. The body was also alighted so that the warmth and hope that the person encompassed would radiate and be passed on to the children. Such is the nature of fire, to expose the love within the heart of a person and diffuse it among those that are around.

Cascaded by fine white linen, rolled and folded around her body, she lay still on the bed of red cedar branches. On her were the white leaves of the volcanic flower. Above and around her personal pier were golden pillars and a marble roof with Fire Nation emblems of ages old adorning the faces.

Ozai had never seen her so still before. Lifeless she lay there. Even though tradition would breathe life into her death, tradition would never allow her to grasp his hand again. His wife, his love, was dead. He could still feel her though, her ambient nature still flowed like a silk cloth in the air. He breathed out deeply to help calm the storm within him. Her only presence now lay with her children.

Azula, her 11 year old daughter, was watching with closed eyes. What could she see? A woman who carried her for 9 months, and laboriously gave birth to her after intense agony, was gone. Everything she could see was black, so closing her eyes made no difference. She would still be looking, but only into the darkness. Instead of being rewarded life eternal for her struggle and her pain, she was dead. Her hands were limp and would no longer wipe the tears away. Her body was unmoving and would no longer provide her with encircling arms and a loving heart when she needed them most. Her face was still and would no longer provide the kisses before she went to sleep. She had no one else now, except for her father and her brother.

Zuko, her 15 year old son, was broken. He stood straight, but his heart was torn. A part of himself had left him. A part of himself was forever missing. To Zuko, it was as if a star had sunk into the ocean, lost in the darkness of Goliath's Crevice. ...no, it wasn't like that. She was not lost in darkness. She was the moon, brightly shining in the dark sky, hanging among the stars. But even when the moon would not shine, he could still see her. The vane narcissistic pride that took over all young men of royal garbs would no longer latch onto him. For when he looked into his face in the mirror, he could see her eyes staring back at him with its piercing dawn-like hue.

Zuko could recall the last few days easily now. How couldn't he?

* * *

Her death was Cardiac Arson. Her heart had alighted on fire and ceased to pump the blood through her veins, killing her. However, no one knew what could have triggered it. It was as if death had lost an opportunity prior and intended to make his due before leaving back into the dark. In other words, it was unexpected. Cardiac Arson was a condition that was derived from a family of sicknesses whose symptoms weren't easy to hide. But Ursa wasn't sick. She shouldn't have died this way...

But the feeling of anger he had paled in comparison to the fear he had seen in Azula's eyes the day they had found her dead in the garden. They were upstairs playing when they heard the servants scream out for medical assistance. It was when they ran to the window that they could see her, holding two flowers in one hand, clutching her chest with the other. Her eyes were open in pain, and her mouth was positioned for a scream. Ozai was over her, trying to pump life back into her, but it was no use. Zuko remembered running downstairs but their father had barred them from seeing the horror. He managed to see a nurse closing his mother's eyes and her mouth and placing a cloth over her head.

Azula's eyes...red rimmed...the black hole in the middle was utterly sucking the soul out of her...Zuko recalled her scream, the blood-curdling scream that burst his ears. His only reaction was to shield her from the view and hug her as tight as he could as she sobbed and screamed for her dead mother.

He looked up to see his father staring down at them. Just a few days prior, Ozai's own father, Azulon, had died of old age. Ownership of the crown had been passed down from Azulon to Iroh. However, Iroh and his son Lu Ten were fighting the war at Ba Sing Se, so the crown was again passed down, temporarily, to Ozai, so that he could watch over the Fire Nation. Ozai looked back at the body. As the Fire Lord, he could not afford to be seen as weak, and Zuko knew that the one tear he saw rolling down his father's cheek would be the last he would ever see of it again.

* * *

It had been a few days since then. Zuko was still staring at his mother's body and Azula still had her eyes closed. Their father had indeed grown more further apart from them. He left them to handle the loss themselves while he himself moved faster than before to accelerate the war efforts, leaving Azula to rely heavily on Zuko's comfort. Though Zuko did oblige, he was unfortunately consumed by the confusion of Ursa's death and so could not concentrate on his sister.

The sun was still shining brightly though. The course of the day still did not change. The difference was that the nation was quiet. They were observant as all the shops and stores were closed. People lined the streets, watching in deep regret as their empress was to return to the earth that she had once come from.

There was one disturbance in Zuko's head. It hit him from the right. Zuko turned and looked in the distance. He and his family were standing on the highest floor where the royals were incinerated after death. He had a vantage point. Over the west wall, hidden from view by the rest of the people, a strange man sat on the edge of a small opening to an underground lava path, staring intently at him with a dark smile. Though Zuko could not hear him, the words hit him like thunder, "I...I have done my duty...No one will know for I have done my duty!" Zuko was stunned and was even more stunned when he saw the stranger disappear into the flowing lava...he would have screamed out at the man...had the event not been so unnatural...Zuko hid his shock and knew he could not abruptly break the silence of the funeral, but he'd address the situation when all this had passed.

Just at that time, a Federal Priest appeared, solemn and calm. He handed Ozai the torch, who then placed his hand on Azula's shoulder, opening her eyes. She tried to back away, but Zuko wouldn't let her. He held her hand, feeling the shivers go from her spine to his, and placed it over their father's. Together they lit the red cedars on fire and watched as her body disappeared into the flames. Their life was wordless today...


	2. Chapter 2

**- Ouroboros -**

**II**

_Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for. _

- Dag Hammarskjold (1905 – 1961)

* * *

He stared at the fire on the candle sitting at the end of his bed for far too long. It was past midnight. The sun was now smiling at another part of the earth as its tendrils of light gathered and cared for the cries of the saddened world beyond the Fire Nation. He would not see the smile of the bright star for another 5 or 6 hours... He was alone. He could hear his sister sobbing terribly, broken beyond what he could repair. She wanted to remain alone, away from anything that resembled maternal love, and so he could not console her during her time of grievance. He could see the damage done to her mentally. On some days, she would stare into space for hours, sometimes forgetting to blink. Her eyes would rush with pain but she would refuse to close them, and Zuko could do nothing...

Fatigued and in pain by the waves of his own tears, he could find no solace. He thought the crying would drain the pain out of him, but it was a lie. The pain could not be represented by tears. His pain was harder to bear. He actually felt as if there were 2 less valves in his heart. Half of his blood was drained. As the hours passed, he could hear his sister cry less and less. Finally, it was quiet and it was quiet in his heart as well. Azula looked a lot like their mother, and to see and hear her in such a shattered state made the mourning period that much more unbearable. But with her cries settled, he was able to close his eyes without worry. He drifted off...

_Zuko..._

_HUH! _Zuko threw himself out of bed and landed with a hard thud. He pulled the sheets down with him and lay on the floor breathing hard while grabbing his hip bone. It felt like an armored front-vehicle rushed and braked right before him. He got up and looked around, noticing he didn't put the candle out. But he couldn't. Attached under the candle was a picture of her, smiling. He felt that putting out the candle would put her out of his memory...he didn't want that...but he felt as though she was slipping away. He walked towards the window, petted the flower that sat beside his window sill, and stared at the stars. They were bright, almost illuminating the entire sky. The moon was out of sight, probably spying on them from the other side of the castle, just like his mother used to do to him when Mai used to visit, though he had no idea why. He looked into the distance and saw the rows of trees that lined the graveyard...

Zuko walked towards the closet, and pulled out his cloak, hoping to pay her a visit. His hip hurt from the fall, but it was a minor pain that subsided once he realized he was actually out of his bedroom, heading towards the graveyard at night.

The young prince slipped down the corridor. The once brightly illuminated pillars of marble, adorned by the busts of the greatest Fire Nation citizens, were now cloaked in darkness. The floor, with its black marble tiles with streaks of white traces, were now pitch. The only form of light entering into the castle were from the night sky, but that was only through the messenger bird openings that were visible through the tiny slits in the roof that appeared every few hundred meters. Guards were there are as well. He had to walk quietly. They were unmoving and usually located near entrances and in between long corridors, but that wasn't what he was afraid of. Along some of the passages, there were a different class of guards that hung from the corners of the roof looking intently back and forth. They were guards associated with the Divine. Their only giveaway was the hint of light that emanated from their pupil-less eyes, but otherwise, they were like black spirits.

The entire castle was arranged in a very symmetrical fashion. There was the central hall that was the atrium of the entire building. On the north face was a marble block with a doorway through it. Above the block was the statue of Fire Lord Zero, a disgraced and dishonored Fire Lord, but one of the most respected, nonetheless. Through that doorway was the Throne Room. On the south wall of the central hall was an archway that blended into an ascension of stairs that led to a long perpendicular corridor where the royal chambers were. The primary foundation pillars were located along the west and east walls with large candles sitting under overhanging shields. These shields belonged to the early Fire Nation warriors that died during the Uruha Land Conflict, close to one-hundred years ago. The center of the shields were still glowing from the heat of the fire, even though the flames of the candle had died down around sunset. In between the pillars were several doorways with the east leading out into the various outer courtyards and the west leading to the main stairwell, the military chambers, the library, and inner sanctuary.

Zuko's main objective was to get to the southern courtyards without being noticed by both the sleepless guards and the Divine. Passing along the corridor of the personal chambers, he was careful not to be heard by the guards standing on the stairs facing the central hall. He knew there was no way to enter the east wall using the atrium since there were twenty four of them posted, two for each door. But that wasn't the problem. The main issue was the- _DAMN! _Zuko froze, literally holding every muscle in his body as still as possible. There it was...two glowing stars looking in his general direction. They seemed so distant, but he knew who those belonged to. Hanging on the corner between the ceiling and wall, the Divine watched. He had never been so scared in his life...they were known to be merciless and were morally obligated to kill on sight any threat for the safety of the royal family and the national security of the Fire Nation. A faceless figure, as Zuko was, was considered such a threat. Zuko, cloaked in black, knew that despite the experience of these soldiers, he would be hard to spot, especially since he was in the shadow. The eyes turned away from him and it was in that moment that he turned around...only to stare into a another set of glowing eyes staring at him from a distance. This was frightening to him, beyond what he had trained for. _What...what do I do...how...oh crap... _the eyes were getting larger. They were approaching him, he knew it... _Frig I can't hear anything...my ears...damn, stop pounding...crap...calm down...CALM DOWN!!_

Unexpectedly, the winds outside picked up and in an instant the castle moaned loudly as the winds concentrated in the air passages. This was a convenient distraction, but they were moving still in his direction. His nervousness grew as one of the Divine crossed the half way point. There was a shuffle behind him and Zuko saw the Divine on the ceiling land on the floor. He too was looking in his direction..._they are like black spirits..._

_-!-_

It was loud...it was piercing! A massive scream erupted from down the corridor towards the royal chambers. The Divine redirected their attention as they saw the guards run up the stair case down towards the corridor. In that moment, Zuko threw his cloak in the air and rushed to the opposite side of the corridor using the wave of footsteps to disguise his own. He popped the grate off the floor ventilation chute and rolled into it, pressing his limbs against the inner walls once inside. Just before going up, he saw one of the Divine fly towards the cloak grabbing it by the collar before it hit the floor. He knew throwing that in the air would keep them looking at the cloak and not the opposite wall. He climbed up as quietly as he could, and reached an opening around the second or third floor. He popped the grate off and slid along the wall, rolling once he hit the ground.

Though it was from down the corridor, he had no idea who the voice belonged to. The guards were holding their positions more securely now and there before him he saw two guards back to back scouting the outside areas as quietly as possible. Zuko got down onto his stomach and crawled to the nearest shrub south of where he exited the opening and looked for where the graveyard was located. In the distance was the familiar archway, and the thousands of red cedars that flocked the area. That was where the graveyard was. He crouched towards the thicker tree line and carefully moved forward while looking down to avoid breaking any branches. However, he heard something scuffle to his left. There was a bit of light gleaming on a liquid, yet fleshy flat surface, but soon, it turned around and the large hide ran into the dark...if Zuko didn't know any better, he could've sworn he saw a beast, but he couldn't tell what it was, since he couldn't find the head... Looking deeper, he realized how dark it really was. The trees were a haunting blue color, and the ground was pewter. He couldn't see more than three meters into the forest and the fear was overwhelming...more so than when he was in the dark corridor with the Divine... There were beasts rumored to walk late in the night, one of which he might have seen, and there were times people did go missing...

But he kept moving forward, till eventually, he hit the graveyard. To say it was magnificent was an understatement. Though the body was preserved, turned to ashes and then released over the top of a volcano, there was still a shrine dedicated in the graveyard. He walked past many tomb stones, and smaller shrines. They were usually made of stone tablets laid on the floor with incense burning around them and flowers layered on top. They were everywhere, to his right and left and and the endless mass stretched out as far as the eye could see. The tombs were planted where there were clearings in the red cedar forest, which was a vast expansive land that stretched into a valley and disappeared over a mountain. There was no one here...it was just too frightening to watch the graveyard at night...and the moon was actually staring down at him, enough to create shadows. The flowers that grew here looked as if they were humming under the moon's light. In time, he discovered his mother's tomb. Her shrine was placed in the tomb of her parents and ancestors, which included the late Avatar Roku.

This was it...he just wanted to knock on the door, sit beside his mother's shrine for a couple of hours and go back into bed...he opened the stone door very slowly and noticed the interior stone walls and the pictures of all the ancestors of his mother. The small glass opening on the ceiling allowed some of the moonlight inside the room. Dead flowers and candles sat for every member and incense ash was spread among the table...they were cleaned every morning, but for some reason, the flowers always died here at night. He sat down on the floor and stared at the pictures for a while...his mother was so peaceful, her smile so gentle...if only he could hug her one last time...

After a while, he turned his head and looked to the open doorway... Instead of seeing the blanket of stars in the night sky, he was greeted with another sight. Cloaked in black, there a stranger stood...staring...the arm was cuffed to a massive book. He was calm though for some reason. It was after an infinite passage of time that the being slowly dissipated into the night air leaving the book behind.

* * *

It had been many weeks since that night. The mourning period was over and the Fire Nation resumed their regular economic and social activities. Training and wash-ups were completed a few hours prior to the afternoon. Ozai was overlooking the training regimen for the elite guards and the stress was making him more impatient and more susceptible to frightening outbursts if any trainee failed on the field. His father had a strange taste in defining what was good and bad. Anything short of a faultless execution was an utter disgrace and any fault was compensated only with a run around the castle grounds. This wasn't so bad as there were almost two hundred trainees, including Zuko, executing close to twenty-five laps. It was safe to assume that after the run, their chest and legs would burn almost as much as any fire-disciplinary action.

He was facing the western wall now. Greeting the guards, he passed through one of the doors and walked along the library channel, observing the stone floors and the candle lit, low-lying ceiling. The roof opened into a large hollow tower where messenger hawks perched and screeched. Passing through, he entered the library and smiled at the librarian while walking towards one of the tables in the distance.

"My Prince?"

He turned around, "Yes Mr. Arda?"

"I have to attend a book conference in the meeting room. So if you need me, just knock on that door."

"I was wondering where the others were. I'll do that Mr. Arda. Thanks."

As he made his way there, he recalled the daring attempt to visit his mother's grave all those weeks ago and the fruits of his labor, of which he had his hand around. Placing the dusty book on the table, he looked at the cover and binding and noted no name, and no opening either. However, there was a single glass plate embedded within the cover.

Azula appeared over his shoulder after he seated himself, "Hey Zuko..."

_Huh? _He turned around for a moment to see his sister. She was a little happy, but her mind was still occupied."Oh, Azula! How are you feeling?"

She looked out into the distance and sighed, "I...I know its been so many weeks and I know that she...well...I...", she sighed again, "...I can't get over it...she was there holding me a few minutes before she died, when I hurt myself in training..."

"I remember, you had your knee slashed...how is it?"

"Better...I miss her Zuko..."

"I know..."

"You know...when I was in the hospital, she told me she was going to get me a flower and you one as well. The ones in our bedrooms were dying, because we weren't taking care of them..."

"Yeah...I didn't even think about watering them...not even today."

"Well...I find comfort in taking care of it now...I've watered yours today too..."

"Thanks Azula."

She pulled out a chair to sit beside him. She looked at the table for a bit and wandered again into the distance. In a moment she snapped back and noticed the book on the table. "What's the book?"

"I...well I...discovered it...in the library...you know, just the urband legend stuff..."

"That again? Weren't you getting scared of those stories?"

"I don't think their stories...but I am getting scared of them...some of these things are true, I'm telling you. The facts are undeniable!"

"Right, like the headless rhino that stalks the forest every night..."

"Headless...rhino?"

"You'll come across it in one of these books...oh! Did you hear? Last night?"

"The scream? What...was that?"

"Aunt Brita...she's in the hospital. She apparently had an apparition with Lu Ten, but she's sleeping now...come to think of it, I have to get back there. They say she might need some psych aid or something when she wakes up..."

"Alright, take care."

She pushed the chair back, and left the library a little bit more upright. Zuko smiled knowing she was getting better by the day. He turned to the book again. _OPEN! _He tried to pry the binding off, but it was sealed with iron on the edges. When he stood the book up, he stared at the second glass pane at the rear of the book. Reversing it, he noticed how some of the light seemed to be passing from the rear glass pane through to the front one. The center of the library had a framed opening on the top. It was blocked by sheets of transparent stones, but the design allowed the light to concentrate close to a square meter. He walked underneath the rays and lifted the book into the air above him. Nothing. He reversed to see the front. Noth_- what?_ Speckles of light blipped in and out of existence and after a while...whole symbols were appearing. Translating it, it read, "Move till the sun can move no longer...", ..._Move no longer...grandma used to say that all the time...'don't give up'..._

His hands became hot, causing him to drop the book. He fell to his knees to recover it but stopped short of touching it when he saw the binding burn along a thin strip. He slowly let his fingers drape the cover and then pulled the book open. He was greeted by a statement on the inside of the front cover, for which he was baffled.

You Of Unmarred Righteousness May Oblige The Hurt Ethereal Rose

When a Scion Kites In Low Lands Endeavoring Death

If this was a riddle or some vague prophecy, he was lost. The librarian opened the door again, causing Zuko to quickly recover himself and lift the book. He looked around to see if he dropped anything else and made his way out of the library.

"Everything alright My Prince?"

"Of course Mr. Arda. I just found the book I was looking for."

"That's good to hear. Keep reading, but stay away from those urban legend stuff."

Zuko smiled and patted the book. He looked down for just a moment for effect, but instead he caught a glimpse of a strange symbol on the lower part of the book, which was more noticeable since the binding on one side came off. Once he was out of the library and in the library channel, he stared at the symbol in detail. It was a dragon...eating its own tail...

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**- Crimson Roses -**

**III**

_The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears. _

- Ellen Goodman (1941 - )

* * *

The library channel seemed to have a certain aura about it. Considering the fact that it was insulated from natural light and only visible due to the candles along the walls, it seemed to give a certain air of mystery. This was further reinforced by the strange symbol that Zuko could not stop analyzing. The riddle further enticed him. What did it mean? Rose, in Fire Nation tradition, referred to mothers. Therefore an ethereal rose could refer to anything from a mother in the spiritual world or a spiritual mother like mother nature. Frighteningly, only his mother had died recently...However, Zuko had no idea as to who or what the unmarred righteous and lost scion were. However, kite, was slang for traveling over lands and these lands must have been referring to the low lands. However, the terms low lands confused him as that only referred to the spiritual world or worlds covered in darkness. In any case, Rose was his best clue and the only person close to him that was a mother was his aunt Brita. However, since she was in the hospital, he decided to take one last glimpse at the symbol before attempting to open the book.

"ZUKO!" Azula panted out loud. Zuko was stunned for a moment, and reacted likewise. "What!? What happened?"

"Zuko, she's relapsing! Hurry!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him down the tunnel. "Dammit, hurry!"

"What? What's going on?"

"I said she needs you!"

_No you didn't..._

Zuko could only think of Aunt Brita as the one who needed him, but he had no reason as to why she would call him. Rushing out the library channel, they took a left and another to head down the hospital channel on the west wall. What was strange was that in the turn, he caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure climb up the staircase. The hospital was a facility that was connected to the castle via an underground tunnel and was partially built underneath with metal beams extending in all directions, kilometers into the dirt, since it needed the protection and stability that the ground provided to enable it to withstand attacks from above land and underneath.

Nurses and doctors were rushing through corridors back and forth administering, diagnosing and healing all those that they could. There were so many patients ever since the war started. Both military and civilian workers were equally prone to lying in these beds, as military personnel would come back either limbless or with massive open wounds, while civilians would suffer from ailments caused by the industrial hike, promoted by the war and its economy. Black soot and toxic particles raided the air of manufacturing plants which were particularly dominant in the Fire Nation.

They manuvered past the patients on crutches and terminal victims lying on stretchers and into the royal ward where Brita's room was located. Being the chief medical officer of the entire Fire Nation hospital had granted her special attention by the nurses, despite her protests and insistence that they lend their hands to the patients in the other wards. Azula pulled back the curtain and stared at the missing bed. Behind them, Zuko and her saw Ozai round the corner into the room, staring at the nurses.

"Damn, where is she!?"

"Fire Lord- um, we're sorry, but she insis-"

"Dad, I told you I should've brought him earlier!"

"Azula, go look for her. You too Zuko. She should be lying down, I told her-dammit!"

Zuko pulled Azula with him and ran through the corridors searching for their aunt. Azula decided to split up, and Zuko advised her that he would look for her back in her chamber.

"She can't be there! There's no way she would've got through..."  
"She's not here though! Let me just check there, you check here, kay?"

And with that, he ran off down the hospital channel, and took a right towards the south wall. Running up the stair case and rounding the corner towards Brita's room, he had a feeling she might just be in there. Finally, reaching her chamber, he reached his hand out to knock, only to hear her voice stating that he come in. Zuko slid the door open and there was his aunt, staring at the painting of her husband and son. She was so calm, totally contradictory to the emotional climate outside.

"Zuko...Lu Ten...find out what happened to Lu Ten. What happened to my son?"

"He's fighting along side Uncle Iroh, isn't he?"

"Find that out."  
"Yes aunti..."

"Zuko...you remind me of him. He was like you when he was your age."  
"Thank you au-"  
"So I can tell something is on your mind. What's wrong? Can I help?"

Zuko did have something on his, which was why he was taken aback...he didn't know whether it was advisable to actually tell her, but it came out before he could think about it.

"Aunt Brita...I found a book. Well...more than that...I mean...I mean what do you think of this statement?"  
He handed her the book, and when she laid her eyes on it, it flared open and she stood up. "ZUKO! Where did you find this!? Where son?"  
"I just found the book...um...on the ground..."  
"Really...? Impossible, it's impossible..."

"Aunti, I-"  
"Don't mention this book to anyone! AT ALL ZUKO! This is far beyond what you can imagine! Do not mention this to anyone and don't speak of it again. Purge your memory of his Di-...b-book."

The panic in her voice struck horror into him, so much so that he could only nod, turn around and walk out of the room. His face was frozen, and looking left, he saw his sister, father and the nurses running towards to the door, only to brake at the sight of his face...

* * *

They were confused by Zuko's nature that day, but after a week of not explaining the situation to them, they gave up on him. However, they were more relieved to find Brita well and okay. Zuko had trouble finding out what his cousin was doing in the battlefield. Every letter he sent to Lu Ten was replied to by his uncle Iroh. It was all good news, but about three days ago, the letters ceased their return and Zuko found out that they were on their way home.

Brita was joyous and yet apprehensive. Her husband and son were coming home. Finally, after months in continuous battle, she could finally hold the two people she loved more than herself in her arms.

"Brita...I'm telling you, its alright, you stay-"  
"Ozai, I may have given you permission to stop calling me the queen when I married your brother, and that was only because I thought of you as my brother. So as a brother...get out of my way, or I'll-"  
"Brita, this is nonsense! You're heart is in no shape-"  
"I know...its becoming more fragile. BPM is reaching levels that aren't good for my age. And something is building in my arteries. But if I should die in the next few days, I must see them both before that."  
"That's not a funny statement!"

"Zuko, come here and help me up."

His father eyed him and then nodded, and walked off huffing. "I know you mentioned he was growing further apart from you, but he seems fine son."

"Yeah, well maybe that's because uncle Iroh and Lu Ten are coming back."

Zuko held his arm out, which she grabbed onto. He helped her up from her bed, and walked with her from her chamber to the eastern wall where a motorized, carrier awaiting in the courtyard, would take them to the docks to see Iroh and Lu Ten.

The smooth finish of this model was much more refined and more visually appealing than the dominating and oppressive look of its cousin, the military front-cars. He only noticed because he could see his sister off the reflection of the car. All of them were dressed in their finest clothes and had to seat themselves in such a way as to avoid wrinkling their clothes. Zuko found this out the hard way, as when he tried to jump in last, he was scolded by his aunt. He knew she normally wasn't this snappy, but her son was out on the battlefield for months now, so he couldn't blame her.

Upon reaching there, they were greeted by several soldiers that lined the ports. Zuko saw his father standing in the front of the docks, shining his crown, for today he was going to return the kingdom to his brother. Several ships were anchored close to the shore with naval flags draped across their hulls...but they were...black. Zuko was mystified by the sight of it. Azula asked him why it might have been that color, but Zuko had no answer since the report didn't mention anything other than the warriors returning home.

The waters in the distance were bathed in a low lying fog, and the sun had suddenly hid itself behind a massive storm cloud that passed in the distance, its huge anvil head eating the sky to the north. His aunt Brita stood there, with the cool breeze pushing on her bangs. Zuko knew she took notice of the flag color, since she did look a bit nervous...

But, suddenly, her demeanor changed to that of relief. She breathed out calmly and smiled at Azula and Zuko while holding their hands tighter. There was the massive mother ship, moving slowly, moving calmly...it was gliding with the current. It was cast in darkness as it appeared through the mist under the shadow of the storm cloud. Brita could not see her husband clearly, due to his helmet, but she could see him standing there, tall and strong...it was like the ship and the crew had rose from the dead, back from the wake-less sleep that characterized the war...but as the ship neared the port...they saw Iroh falter backwards before getting of the stand and moving to the rear.

_He must be so tired... _

The internal chains of the ship lowered the forward hull portcullis after which the soldiers, garbed in their torn and burnt, special operations suits, assembled along the ramp down the dock. They stood tall and were in a salute position. Ozai, his thirty military escorts and two federal priests, lined themselves in front of the ship, awaiting Iroh's descent down the ramp.

The storm cloud didn't move and the sun was still hiding.

Brita let go Zuko, nodded at them both, and moved forward towards the ship, just off to the right of Ozai's shoulder. Suddenly, there appeared Iroh. He was draped in a black cape embroidered with the flame like insignias along the trim. His collar was folded and was held together with a dark red chord. Underneath, Zuko could see the intense armor that Iroh had worn. It was thick and almost impermeable. The shoulder shield mount was very large, bulging Iroh's natural shoulder length. The armor was clearly visible on his legs, with its several layers of padding and reinforcements. He took off his helmet, a ten pound assembly of metal and leather.

Iroh's eyes were dark, his face was riddled with wrinkles and much of his hair had become gray as well. The sight of it, stunned her. Iroh had left for the war two years ago, as a healthy and powerful warrior and had come back looking as if he had a sledge hammer slammed into his body for days on end. None of the soldiers on the portcullis moved, however Zuko did see one of the soldiers quiver in his salute.

Brita's lips quivered as well since Lu Ten was no where to be seen. Yet despite her sadness, Iroh still walked forward down the ramp. She began shivering, and yet he continued to walk. He landed in front of Ozai.

"My dear bro-"

"Ozai, get the servants to assemble the soldiers at the barracks with hot meals prepared. Meet me in the throne room in three days, this hour. We must talk."

Brita's voice cracked, but it was still strong.

"Iroh, my love. Where...is my beloved son?"

"...He's sleeping."  
"Ah, let me go see him then."

"You won't find him there Brita...He...he's sleeping on the battlefield, just as the others are." His voice was brave, but Zuko knew the turmoil that must have been storming within. Iroh had to finish the statement and tell Brita the cold hard truth, even though the pain in her eyes were starting to burn into him. But despite it, he loved her dearly, and couldn't bear to look away from her anymore. "He died a soldiers death, just as he wanted."

Zuko could see now what happened to him. There were so many dents and dings on his armor. His shoulder mount was deformed and twisted, and being that it was made of solid steel...it baffled Zuko as to what could have done this. There was no way the Earth Kingdom warriors were that strong.

She stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head and stepping back...her eyes were open, but her pupils were dilated. Tears started to roll down her face, and her back arched as she looked at her hands...her shoulders shivering violently.

"I killed my son...haven't I? I murdered my own son...and I am now covered in his blood... I deserve to die with him Iroh...I should have been dead or killed by now...what? Did my heart not hear his...it should've stopped with my son's..." Iroh's eyes flared open, and he moved forward to grab her. She retreated back, till she tripped over her dress. "I'll just die then...it's not hard...I've seen it enough times...the suicides, the murders, the massacres..."

"BRITA! Don't you dare speak like that!"

"It is okay. I am in a rational state. I wanted so much more for him! To teach him medicine, to become a doctor. But I let him become a soldier. This is for the b-"

"Ozai! Get the hospital ward prepared! Unit 33, get over here now dammit!" He eyed her carefully, as Brita neared the end of the dock. "Brita, stop. You know Lu Ten wanted to become a soldier. He wanted to stop the war, so there wouldn't be any more deaths for you to deal with. He was only thinking of you! This was expected when we let him go!"

She calmed down a bit, but then looked at him and retreated further. "We let our hopes outweigh the fears Iroh..."

"We are supposed to! How else can we die in peace! BRITA! Stop, I swear it stop! You know how your body reacts to too much water!" Iroh slowly unwound his cape and discarded it. He then threw the shoulder shield mount off and stripped off the armor on his body.

And with that, she ran backwards and threw herself into the water as Iroh rushed forward. He lunged into the water himself and grabbed onto her as she struggled to get away from him and drown. Her skin started to turn red and her sweat glands started to overreact. Iroh was able to get underneath her and straddle the water in such a way as to he keep her above water, even as she screamed in terror and in pain.

Zuko and Azula were already at the end of the deck holding their hands out to grab their aunt. Suddenly, Ozai appeared between them and grabbed onto her one hand and heaved her up, with Zuko and Azula grabbing onto her gown. Unit 33 was already assembled with stretchers, binders and harnesses. Coincidentally, Unit 33 was the only military medical unit trained by Brita herself so they had taken extra care when they bound her to the stretcher.

Zuko and Azula teared at the sight and could not bear looking at her as she flinched and struggled to breathe. But Zuko wanted more to know why the other twenty thousand soldiers that had accompanied Iroh weren't there on the dock to help their captain and chief in command. He turned around and was awe-struck. Soldiers were jumping out of the ships and running down the ramps heading towards their direction, but there was only two hundred or so. ..._Where are they!? _Ozai looked at Iroh with the same question on his face as the soldiers helped him out of the water, and all Iroh could do was look at his wife. Almost twenty-two thousand soldiers, including Iroh's son, were dead and no one knew why.

* * *

It was truly deja vue. However...the only difference was that Lu Ten was not there and neither was Brita or Iroh. Not even Lu Ten's body came back from the war. To say that Brita was distraught was a lie.

Brita was a mother, a wife, a daughter and also a doctor. She had ascended the ranks, rising from a war victims nurse to the leading doctor of the Fire Nation. She had seen every form of physical ailment, every form of mental illness, she had seen and investigated countless murders, testified in court thousands of times, had seen the most grizzling of attacks and accidents and had witnessed and worked with everything from dismemberment to burns. She was not only experienced, but blessed in her practise. She was beloved in the Fire Nation, as she was their queen and lifesaver. But today...she was nothing, she was just a water droplet among an ocean... Her only motivation that kept her going through all that she had seen and felt was the health of her son. She was convinced that if she could bear such traumas and still lend a helping hand without fail, then destiny would protect her son and his health. But it wasn't like that. Despite it all, her son was still dead, and even worse, his body was not recovered. Iroh had said that he died in an explosion that ate up the rest of his troops as well, but she was unconvinced. She felt as if she killed her son.

Lying on the piers were Lu Ten's clothes when he was a child. Countless further piers engulfed the fields of the sacred burning ground that was close the royal cremation temple, where Zuko's mother was last. The country was quiet once again. The piers were lit and the soldiers saluted.

Brita was lying in bed in the hospital ward recovering from her injuries. All she could do was grieve as Iroh held her hand. And grieve she did, till tears were no more and blood become its substitute.


	4. Chapter 4

**- Veil of Secrecy -**

**IV**

_Three may keep a secret, if two are dead. _

- Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

* * *

The Fire Nation was turning black. The soot from the falling sky was covering the ground in an ashen color.. That was all it was... A dark eerie overcast was all he could see. The rest was soundless, scentless, tasteless. It was senseless. Whether it was the due to the war, a sort of cause due to an effect, no one had cared. Whatever happened, however brutal, mindless and soulless, nothing would stop this war. It was a machine, a monster that could not be stopped. It had gained too much momentum, its inertia unstoppable. It was the economy of the Fire Nation, its defining factor, and the social stimulus for order and subjugation. Zuko, however, unlike the rest, could care less of what the war was and instead cared more for the outcome.

This day, today, the war, the beast within his dreams, a strange man in black personified, would be opposed. Though Zuko was of the ruling class, and of the running elite, he could not stand by and watch as others lost their loved ones in a battle with no end or merit. He was one of those "others". His mother died, and, internally, he blamed it on the burden the kingdom placed on her as a result of the ceaseless conflict. His cousin had died, with his body un-recovered. And today...another death, maybe even two. She was found in the graveyard, lying over her son's memorial. It had merely been two days since Lu Ten's funeral, when Brita was found dead, bleeding from her mouth.

It started early in the morning. Zuko had awoken to the voice of his father screaming at the personnel of National Affairs. He ran outside to see what the commotion was about but as soon as he did, Ozai had screamed across the corridor at his son, commanding him to run to the hospital to find and help his uncle. Zuko, without a second thought, sprinted down the hall, through the staircase into the main hall and jetted into the hospital channel, but upon reaching there had forgotten he had to see Iroh. He decided to see if his aunt had been readmitted to the hospital and so he asked.

Several minutes later, he gathered his thoughts as nurses helped him to calm down. They informed him of what happened. Another casualty in the family. Investigations were on going, but at the moment, it was another case of Cardiac Arson. The only thing odd about the scenario was that in all the history of the Fire Nation, Cardiac Arson had only occurred three hundred and twenty three times. Based on statistical analysis, the probability of it occurring in less than a couple of months ruled out the fact that the deaths were random. However, in all of history, Cardiac Arson was proven one-hundred fold to be a natural case of excessive stress. Being that it wasn't random and the fact that these deaths were natural made it clear that some factor in the last few years placed a burden on these two citizens more so than anyone else.

But that didn't matter. Zuko inquired about his uncle and found out he was still in the graveyard. He ran to the courtyards and saw Azula along the way. They were barred in the beginning from entering the graves, but homicide investigators needed Iroh out of the area to continue with their investigation. They both walked into the yard quietly. Nothing in it was disturbed...everything was identical to as it was when they always visited. Walking into the graveyard, they saw Iroh kneeling on the floor, staring at his wife's body. He was a vegetable and most likely the second casualty today from this war. There was a white sheet covering her entire body. The sight was enough to cause Azula to turn around and run from the scene.

Zuko was about to chase after her, but before he did, he looked at his uncle.

"Uncle..."

"..."

"We...we have to leave...that's what the investigators said..."

"Uncle, please...I'm scared here..."  
He reached to touch him, but his skin was burning hot, enough to sting Zuko's fingers. He stared at him quietly and then ran from the sight, running after his sister. She was in another courtyard, being consoled by Mai and Ty Lee. Zuko watched for but a moment and walked back to the castle...quiet...and alone...

* * *

A week had passed and so had the funeral. Iroh was starting to walk around again. Zuko wanted to apologize to him for leaving him alone, but he couldn't find his uncle. Meeting Azula in the main hall, they both walked together looking at the busts of each Fire Nation Soldier.

"Zuko...I know this sounds crazy..._"  
Whispering? "_You think this is just deeper than natural death..."  
"...Mom...then aunti...Lu Ten!?"  
"Kay, now Lu Ten was legitimate. No, all three were. I know its weird...but CA is caused by st-"  
"ARE YOU FRIGGEN STUPID!!"  
"...!"

"CA!? CA!? It was murder!!"  
"Azula, shut the heck up!"  
"NO!"  
Zuko huffed before grabbing her arm. She was struggling to fight him back and so, to avoid a possible scene in front of the guards, he ran into the throne room, thinking no one was in there. Further, they ran behind the decorative curtains and continued their argument in a more quiet manner. "Azula, I'm not disagreeing with you so calm down! You're talking about controversial things...IN PUBLIC!"

"Zuko...you can't understand..."

"Ozai...you can't understand..."

Instantly, they quietened down. Zuko and Azula both peeked around the corner and stared as Iroh and Ozai continued talking.

"Brother...I can't have the kingdom."  
"Your reasons aren't sufficient. This isn't a personal game Iroh. Father trusted the crown to you. It's his will and of Fire Nation necessity. You can't throw away your duties like this. And I still can't fathom the real reason why. You're never like this. "

"Ozai. Brita..must have been killed."  
""...!"

"Cardiac Arson is natural though..."  
"I know the conditions of Cardiac Arson, the symptoms before...your sister-in-law was the head of medicine. It wasn't natural. She didn't exhibit any of the symptoms...and neither did Ursa..."  
"...Iroh...get to your reason."  
"You're taking the crown by my command. I can't be held back by matters of the state. As selfish as that sounds, I have my personal obligations...to find out what is happening to our family."  
"YOU THINK I DON'T CARE!?"  
"NO! I KNOW YOU CARE! YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND AND DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

"..."  
"I left her for a few hours, she displayed no symptoms, something happened in that time in between."  
"...What did you see her last do?"  
"Read a book. A good thick one. Sorta like the ones she read before her medical examinations"  
Ozai's eyes widened in shock...and so did Zuko's, but for a different reason. He knew the book he was talking about.

"Ozai, heed my advice. the 12 will advice you to commit 831...on probably the Water Tribe now..."  
"Genocide?"  
"831 Ozai. Don't. Or stall it."

"Azula...stay here."  
Zuko snuck out of the throne room, the same way he entered. Azula continued to listen in on the conversation.

He walked out of the throne room calmly. He thought he'd have been caught by now, but luckily, the guards were doing their rotations. He made it through the South Wall and into royal chambers, intent on getting to his uncle's room. Landing in front of his door, he quietly opened the chamber without a single sound. The door slided open and he was greeted by a mess of sheets and clothing. Baffled, he started looking around the room for signs of the book, but there was nothing. He looked up, and stared at the picture of Lu Ten that his aunt had once looked at. He walked up to it, and suddenly, the string ripped and the picture fell down, revealing a hidden vault behind. Zuko stepped back a bit and then reached for the picture. Lifting it, he laid it on the bed gently. _Thanks Lu ten. _Turning around, he stared at the vault dial and had no clue of the combination needed.

Just then, his uncle entered the room.

"Zuko!?"

_Huh!?_

"Zuko...what are you doing in here?"

"Uncle...um...oh man...well...I'm here to collect my former belonging..."  
"What?"

"The book! It's cursed! The book is cursed!"

"What book?"  
"I heard you and father! Aunti was reading the book the hour before she died! I gave her the book! She took it from me when I showed her it!"  
"Zuko, what nonsense is this. How can you find such a book?"

"Is it in the vault uncle? If it is...I have to take it."  
"Zuko...say one more foolish thing, and I'll discipline you myself."

"...Uncle...forget you then! I'll save the lives!"

Zuko instantly turned around and entered the one thing that he could think of, Lu Ten's birthday, into the combination. He threw the vault open and Iroh lunged towards him. He grabbed the book from inside and was about to run, when Iroh grappled him to the floor, driving the book from his hand.

"Zuko, what is the matter with you!?"

"That damn book is cursed I said!"

Iroh got off Zuko and helped him up.

"Zuko...I know it must be hard to have lost your mother, aunt and cousin in less than a year, but you can't lose your composure. I too have lost my sister-in-law, wife and son...I understand your pain, but as part of the royal family, we have to maintain our dignity and not lose ourselves to inner wars."  
"But...but you're not even the Fire Lord anymore! You gave up that title to search for the truth!"  
"Zuko? How much did you hear..."

"I did give up the throne. I gave it to someone I could trust while searching for the truth."  
"I too...want to search for this truth. You said mom's death was at odds with what she was going through..."

"Uncl-"  
"Zuko, I'll show you what's inside and when you see there's nothing to consider, you'll forget this escapade and return to your duties, alright?"  
"Fine..."

"Alright...hmm!?...Strange symbol, Ouroboros...anyway...according to the text, the first Fire Lord was...oh...kay...well, according to the text, the Uraha War was really a 83..."  
"1? Genocide!?"  
"Zuko, stop this. 831 isn't genocide.."  
"I heard you say that part already..."  
Iroh sighed and once more looked for something less detailed to calm Zuko down. "Alright, the first Avatar was...what the...alright...he wrote a book called the...Giathra...!?"  
"The what?"

"This book...Brita was asking about this..."

"She was?"  
"How did you find this book, Zuko?"  
"Oh...oh...I was visiting mom's grave...and someone left it there for me to read..."  
"What? Do you know who it was?"  
"Well...I didn't get a clear view of him..."  
"ZUKO!? Don't you understand protocol!?"  
"I know I know...I was...I wasn't thinking straight..."  
"That could have been an assassin..."  
'I'm sorry..."  
"Alright, I've shown you enough. This book is a little too controversial to read without referencing and to speculative to publicize."  
"What?"  
"Don't tell anyone."  
"I can't ask the priests?"  
"Actually, keep this between us Zuko. There's no reason to involve anyone with this book yet."  
"Oh...is it saying something that's actually important?" Zuko had a sarcastic smile on.

Iroh laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry for my behaviour Zuko. I'm losing composure too. We can help each other help ourselves. Is your sister in good health?"

* * *

Zuko was in the library again, staring at the reams of books that lined the shelves. He had no idea how he was going to find anything on such a secretive book like the Giathra. He had no idea where to look, but his only clue was that something odd happened to his mother and aunt, regarding Cardiac Arson. He looked in the medical section and found several such books on the topic, which reinforced the common view that it was natural and caused by extreme stress. But his uncle had also said there were no symptoms and he was right. His mother didn't show any of those listed in the book. Walking through the stacks, he kept pulling book after book out, looking for something like the Giathra.

Suddenly, he opened a certain book on dark medical magic and a small black book fell out. He replaced the larger book in the shelf and looked around while ducking down to pick up the fallen book. He realized he stumbled into the dark arts and paranormal section, his favorite area. The book fell open to a page with a large G on it. It was right in the middle of the book, so naturally it opened to that page. Looking at it, he turned it to the next page and saw, in large bold text, the work 'Giathra'. Surprised, he got to his knees and looked at it intently.

"The Giathra is collection of dark texts that enable the resurgence and the incarnation of the demon lord Koh. As mentioned before, the vessel of the demon had used a symbol to identify his own. Therefore, look for the sacred G. His own are capable of death and destruction. The instructions they hold dear require them to take lives. These instructions are communicated using 3 digit numeric codes that start with 8. Below is a list of known codes derived from the enemy through Nomadic intelligence recovery."

_What the..._

_800 is bribery_

_801 is theft_

_802 is defamation_

_803 is abduction_

_804 is torture_

_805 is murder_

_806 is mental torture_

_807 is mental torture using family members_

_808 is murdering family members_

_809 is..._

_..._

_Please no..._

_..._

_831 is genocide_

Zuko's eyes widened. He was shocked and disgusted and horrified to know that his own father and uncle were using these vile terms in their conducts. He further realized, in utter anger, that these codes were related to demonic magic and that the current institution was using them. He got up and stared at the book intently. Was it true? Was the current ruling class using terms inherent in demonic magic. In other words, was the Fire Nation related to these dark arts? Suddenly, it hit him, the stupidity of it all. He laughed for a second at himself and closed the book once he realized his own naivety.

He made a double take. He held the book out at arms length. His eyes weren't deceiving him. The symbol on the cover was the same symbol on the book in his uncle's room. It was the image of a dragon eating its tale. Further, above the sign, was the symbol of the ancient Air Nomads, with a dark copper stain on the image. He opened the book again and looked at the inside cover. It was true, the line was right there. This book must have been as legitimate as the larger one he found before, the one he was about to abduct from Iroh's room.

"You Of Unmarred Righteousness May Oblidge The Hurt Ethereal Rose When A Scion Kites In Low Lands Endeavoring Death."

His eyes closed in. Things were falling into his lap so conveniently that he couldn't just throw away the opportunity to find out where this all led. To think it all started with that strange ghost and..."THAT MAN!" He turned around and closed his eyes, smashing his hand to his head. "That man...the one at mother's funeral...who was he...I totally forgot about that stranger..."

* * *

"Uncle...you can't turn me away from this now. I'm going to find out what's going on."  
"What happened?"  
Zuko handed him the small black book.

"Where did you find this?"  
"Library."

Iroh flipped through the pages and noted the large G within it. "Zuko...this symbol and this text..."  
"Is in both books...?"  
"And their advocating some very strong statements from apparently credible sources..."  
"You know who wrote the big book?"  
"The first wives..."  
"Of Fire Lord Goliath!?"  
"I have to verify this information. These are such strong statements that misplacing them or mistating them will place us and whoever involved in grave danger. Hold steady. I'll inquire into the matter myself. You however, must wear the veil of secrecy. Do not, I repeat, do not, reiterate this knowledge to anyone."  
"Aunt Brita told me the same thing about the other book..."  
"She took it seriously!?"  
"Yes...she screamed at me to keep it a secr- OH! Forget what I said!"  
"Zuko...she told you to keep this book a secret? Was she serious?"

"TALK TO ME!"  
"I can't! I have to respect her wishes!"  
"If she died as a cause of this accursed novel, then you had better inform me now!"  
"She...she told me to keep it a secret...her eyes almost fell out of her head the moment she laid eyes on it...I think aunti knew what the book was and what it said."  
"Keep this knowledge between us Zuko till I give the go-ahead to reveal anything. I'll let you be part of this, only if you can keep this knowledge to yourself!"  
"I can do this..."

"Now go get some rest...it's night now and must be far past your bed time."  
Zuko looked outside and realized that it was night time. His entire day passed by in a flash. It was a weekend so he wasn't worried about any pertinent duties that existed during the week day.

"Goodnight Uncle."  
"Goodnight Zuko."

Zuko walked outside the chamber and closed the door. He walked down the corridor to his room and quietly snuck back towards Iroh's room. He kept watch for any of the Divine, but they weren't out yet. He placed his ear tight against the door and heard something strange...  
"How did they know all this...if this was true at all...I thought my ancestor never told anyone his secrets..."

Turning around one last time, Zuko stared at the floor as he walked down the corridor quietly. So _he_ didn't tell them anything...but they found out anyway...but what does the book say...and why are the Air Nomads involved in all this...?

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**- Generations -**

**V**

_The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it. _

- Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924)

* * *

It was early morning. Zuko hadn't seen Iroh in quite a long time, but was not worried since his mental health was more stable than his own. On previous days, especially when he was distraught knowing of Lu Ten's death, he went to the top of the castle to look towards the stars. Aside from the stars, he found out that in the distance was a white gleaming object on a far away island that effectively reflected the moonlight shining on it.

Today, since everything seemed calm, he decided to distract his mind by finding out what that white object was. He walked towards the main hall when he saw his sister aimlessly staring at the busts in the main floor.

"You seem a little too interested in those statues."  
"They died for a cause...which I can't understand. I've been thinking of this war, and I can't find a bloody reason for why it should even prolong for this long."

"I know..."  
"I heard uncle and father speaking before uncle left the room."  
"Was there more to that conversation?"  
"A lot more...they were talking about the 12. A group of dragons...or that's their title...I had no idea what it meant....there was more though..."  
"What?"  
"Lu Ten's death was apparently paranormal..."  
"Hm?"

"Paranormal..."  
"You seem to talk of the most controversial things in the most open spaces."  
"Compared to the city streets, this is pretty closed. Plus the guards are busy talking."  
"Here, I'm heading upstairs to the roof anyway. It'll be more private there."

They turned towards the West Wall and took the stairs to the top floor. The sky opened up to them in a glorious blue with magnificently giant clouds that roamed the skies appearing all around them.

"A few days ago, I found some strange white object in the night. It was intensely beautiful, but I had no idea what it was..."

"Ivory bridge?"  
"Oh...that makes sense...so what were you saying?"  
"Paranormal...spiritual world and all that."  
"I know I used to read that stuff daily, but it doesn't mean I ever believed most of it."  
"Odd...when you don't have the evidence, you embrace it. When you do, you deny it."

"Hey, I'm not denying. But really...? Spirits? This is all just human nature. I'm telling you, this war is nothing but-"_ The demon...Koh...what the...spiritual...is it connected?  
_"What's wrong?"  
"Spiritual. Fill me in."  
"Oh change of heart, eh?"  
"Lets just see what you have to say."  
"They knew the casualty rate ahead of time. It was planned by the 12 or something."  
"They knew how many would die? I thought their goal was to disarm the army and capture everyone as POWs."

"No casualties...exactly...but it happened anyway, to the point where almost our entire battalion was wiped out including Lu Ten. Further, the city...the city...the army and citizens were also included in the....I guess you could call it...opening?"  
"Opening?"  
"To the spiritual world..."  
"Are you serious?"  
"I don't know...I dont' feel like talking about this Zuko...too many of our family has been involved..."  
"It's war...but I know what you mean..."

"You know Zuko...I had no idea how Ivory Bridge was formed..."  
"Long story really."  
"I have all day. History is next year, it'll help to know all this"  
"Likewise. Apparently, the first avatar in the world was an Air Bender, by the name of Aegle. No one knows for sure, but it's taught that what happened to her the night of her death was that she lost control of her powers. That makes sense cause she had possession of a powerful spirit. But in losing control of her powers, the land deformed thus creating an ice bridge so dense that it appeared white in any direction."  
"The Ivory Bridge."  
"Yeah...but that same night...she had killed every Air Nomad on that island. The Western Genocide..."  
"831?"  
"No way...not this case. She lost control, it had to be. Being the first human to possess an elemental spirit? The power of Avatar is unfathomable. Remember Avatar Roku? He could stop volcanoes from erupting...she must have lost control. She apparently got incarnated into the moon. It's odd...cause our ancestor Goliath went missing the same day..."

"Oh..."  
"They also said that same night, Cerulean, the Water Tribe spirit had placed a stone in the catacombs of the Southern Air Temple."  
"How does it relate? And I thought spirits don't exist."  
"Oh....you know...I do have some small belief in spirits. I just don't think they involved themselves more so than taking the body of an Avatar."

"What was the rock for?"  
"To keep spirits from entering the real world."  
"What a night it must have been...all those people slaughtered by uncontrollable power..."  
"We're talking about the most powerful Air Nomads too. These were the militant arm of those practitioners."

"The Western Genocide..."  
"There's actually two names for that. Aegle's inner turmoil was called the second War of Peace, the idea being that she had to fight a war within. The death of the Air Nomads...that was the Western Genocide..."  
"I feel bad for her..."  
"The rest of the world doesn't. She has been given the lowest name among the lineage of Avatars."  
"I don't...the immensity of her pain... You know...I always wondered how this caused the war. I can't see the connection, but at least I know it lead to it now. The guys at school were right."  
"No...the war was started for another reason. That was a much different reason."

"Huh?"

"See, Zero was the first Fire Lord...and was a pacifist by nature...He was a great man...maybe in end his story didn't end the honorable way...but...it's not right he's looked down so demonishly today...."  
"What happened?"  
"Well, he was raised in a monastery by the Air Nomads. He never promoted war...only peace... He went so far as to never interfere with the affairs of other nations, unlike what's happening now...But he let the governments run their own country...However...our ancestor Goliath had become outspoken against him and formed a group of revolutionaries to counter the Fire Lord's prominence."  
"Why?"  
"I don't know...and every time, I got some shifty answer...and nothing was consistent...the evidence was...but the motive doesn't work for me..."  
"What happened?"  
"Well, a few days prior to the Fire Lord's downfall, a terrorist event occurred. A few cargo water banks, literally, money banks on water, were sunk and the funds within never recovered. Goliath had accused the Fire Lord of perpetrating the event. He claimed something odd though...that if Goliath were attacked, that it would be proof that Zero was behind the event..."

"...Was he attacked?"  
"...Yes...no one knows why...he went crazy and tried to battle Goliath in an Agni Kai, but was ultimately killed by Goliath's revolutionaries..."

"Wait...I read up on this...Zero Hour or something right?"

"The Zero Hour Event. They searched the palace and found the gold and all the money...so Fire Lord Zero did steal it all...he was incinerated, his family was killed...kids...executed...his lineage...dead...Goliath became the Fire Lord and, quite opposite to Fire Lord Zero, declared an expansionist government...so as to spread the wealth to every other nation. But the expansion didn't occcur for a very long time."

"That started the war? I didn't think the war lasted that long..."  
"No, you're right. The war didn't start then. But it was a major factor...the expansionist part was....nine hundred and forty eight generations later, grandfather's Solzen's grandfather was in power. At the time, there was a boat load of Earth Kingdom tourists that were stuck in a southern storm front. Earth Kingdom rescue squads had trouble reaching the area as the only way there was through the Southern Air Temple mountain. Remember I mentioned about the stone and Cerulean? Well, the stone was placed in the Southern Air Temple and despite Earth Kindgom pleas, the Air Nomads denied them access...no one was allowed to pass past the Avatar Spirit Stone."  
"What happened to the tourists?"  
"...drowned..."

"That caused the Earth Kingdom to attack the Southern Air Temple and declare war on the Air Nomads and thus became the Ururha Land Conflict."  
"How does that connect to the war?"  
"Well, the Fire Nation made its first expansionist move by fighting in the Ururha Conflict, against the Earth Kindgom...that's why they hate us so much...During that conflict, though no one talks about it, there was so much fratricide it wasn't even funny...so many Air Nomads were killed via friendly fire..."  
"We killed them too?"  
"I never thought of it that way...that's a good way of putting it...it was like sticking the sword through your friend to stab your enemy on the other side...in any case, the Earth Kingdom lost."

"So it was that event..."

"Um...not yet. The war we know today started two generations later. See when grandpa got into power, he wanted to continue this expansionist movement for the same reason Fire Lord Goliath did. Though...that was only towards the people. I mean, he only wanted to spread the joy to the civilian population. But the groups themselves, like the groups people belonged to? He didn't care about it. He was going to make the entire world a Fire Nation state. The governments? He was going to destroy them. However...he hated the Air Nomads...the hostility towards them was insane..."  
"What?"  
"I know...he called them 'soulless creatures that had suppressed the spiritual world from melding with the physical world.' He was angry at the fact that the Air Nomads kept the stone without sharing it to better the lives of millions of people. He regarded that absolute power in one person's hands would solidify control and judgement over the corrupt...I disagree but..."

"That's the bull reason he used to kill them all!? He killed them all for that reason!?"  
"Woah...woah woah woah...how'd you know that?"  
"I didn't know why he did it, I just knew that he did..."  
"Yeah, that was the reason. He had a small army assembled and, in secret, wiped them out. Completely. After that, he openly declared his genocide of the Air Nomads and convinced everyone that it was for the betterment of the world. In retribution for the Fire Nation's involvement in Ururha, and in anger over the Fire Nation's brutality towards the Air Nomads, the Earth Kingdom launched those dreaded silos against the Fire Nation. That's how Fountain Island became Crescent Moon Isle...it destroyed the island, cratering the center and taking out our major support...it killed so many people..."

"So Solzen convinced the world that the Earth Kingdom also deserved punishment..."  
"Yeah...."  
"And the one hundred year war began..."  
"Yes...we moved into the Western Coastline, thus officially declaring war on the Earth Kingdom."

"But why the war on the Water Tribe?"  
"Well, with the Air Nomads gone, the Water Tribe acted as a sort of third party paramedical nomadic group. But, during the Tolcoin conflict-"  
"The battle just before Ba Sing Se..."  
"Exactly. During that conflict, a Fire Nation destroyer opened fire and sunk a Water Tribe transport vessel...actually, more the sunk, they blew it right off the water..."

"Is our nation asking for war?"  
"You wouldn't believe how many times I asked that same question..."

A couple of hours passed as they stared silently at the ivory bridge. The clouds moved as if nothing had changed, and the sun glided just to noon.  
"The First War of Peace."  
"Huh?"  
"The Avatar's death was the second war, what was the first?"  
"Oh...I'm not sure...I'm not really sure...um...we could ask....no, no...actually, Azula? Keep this between us. I'll find out what it is and I'll tell you tonight."  
"Alright. I'm staying here for a bit. Never knew how to get up here and I might forget."  
"I'll show you the route next time."

Zuko headed down the staircase, and towards the Library channel quietly staring at the wicks of light that passed him by. Upon reaching the library, he scanned and scoured through several texts, finally running his finger over a book entitled, 'Spiritual Warfare'. He pulled out the book in curiosity and anticipation and decided to peruse the contents. His eyes narrowed...his heart raced a bit faster than usual and his hands ran cold. The text within finally sealed his involvement with the mystery behind everyone's deaths. He hid the book among the others and ran outside to the library channel, hung a right after passing the questioning guards and ran up the stair case of the South Wall. His uncle was strolling down the palace when Zuko made contact with him. Iroh was taken aback.

"What's wrong Prince Zuko?"  
"Uncle...I'm part of this investigation, whether or not you approve of it."

* * *

_Thus I say to you, the beginning of the time started with the spiritual world. In it, the balance of good and evil was separated and made with form such that beings were erected from the ground like worms in the rain. Ying and Yang. None could precede before the other, and neither could follow. Neither could be destroyed and neither recreated. The hatred of evil could not win against the pacifism of the good, and neither the good overcome the brutality of evil. _

_The being encompassing evil, rose among his allies and pushed his domain in a struggle lasting 10,000 years. Ultimately failing, the being receded back to the beginning point, and sat there and plotted. Realizing the validity of the third creation, human kind, the being set in motion that which would be necessary to create the first Avatar. The being encompassing goodness to counter it was Cerulean. The being encompassing evil was Koh._


End file.
